Gold Rates Quoted At Rs. 44,900, After Union Budget: Gold Price Expected To Drop

In India, gold rates remained subdued from the past week, as the US Fed's monetary policy committee stated that they can hike the interest rate soon. From March the interest rate is expected to hike, which might eventually control the 40-years high inflation rate in the country. So, this can further drag down the gold rates, while making bond yield more profitable, and will push gold market demands.

In India, similarly, the gold prices are expected to fall this fiscal. Indian jewellers and the RBI import gold from other economies as India does not produce enough gold to meet the domestic demands. So, customs duty is charged on gold while importing the metal. Hence, Indian gold rates depend mostly on these two factors: international gold prices, and domestic custom duty. As mentioned before, international gold rates are expected to fall further, with US interest rate hikes. Similarly, India's import charge or custom duty has been recently reduced by the finance minister, which again makes gold cheaper in India. The budget states that the customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones will be reduced to 5%, while simply sawn diamonds will attract no customs duty. This is good news for both gold jewellers, investors, and common retail buyers.

Additionally, a recent report revealed that, in the global markets, two other metals, palladium and platinum have performed better, as gold rates remained flat in the last few months. The yellow metal dropped sharply recently, after the Federal Reserve's statement that they will hike the interest rate soon this year. Commenting on that, Will Rhind, CEO of GraniteShares ETFs told Kitco News, "The main reason palladium and platinum rallied was on expectations that supply chain shortages would start to ease up and increase demand, but that has not happened."

On February 2, 2022 gold prices in India remained the same as yesterday. Today, the 22 carat gold prices are quoted at Rs. 44,900/10 grams, and 24 carat gold rates are quoted at Rs. 48,980/10 grams. In Chennai, and Madurai gold rates fell by around Rs. 200/10 grams.
Gold rates are quoted differently, daily. Today's gold rates in major Indian cities follow:

City	22 carat (INR/10 Grams)	24 carat (INR/10 Grams)
Mumbai	44,900/-	48,980/-
Delhi	44,900/-	48,980/-
Bangalore	44,900/-	48,980/-
Hyderabad	44,900/-	48,980/-
Chennai	45,140/-	49,240/-
Kerala	44,900/-	48,980/-
Kolkata	44,900/-	48,980/-

The Comex gold futures fell by 0.13% and were quoted at $1797.90/oz, till last traded. On the earlier day, Comex gold futures closed at $1800.30/oz. The spot gold prices were quoted at $1799.30/oz, fell by 0.14%, till last traded. The US dollar index in the spot market stood at 96.27, falling by 0.01%. However, in India, the MCX gold in February future quoted at Rs. 47,850/10 grams, fell by 0.13%, till last traded.